1948 Pontiac Torpedo 8 Silver Streak

Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

Collector cars from the immediate post-war era have always been pushed aside by enthusiasts who preferred the more stylish, and more powerful, mid-to-late 1950s models. But during the last few years there's been a reversal of those beliefs, as more people have started to realize just how much value there is in the cars of the late '40s.

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In the years following the end of hostilities after World War II, raw materials were scarce and it took a significant period of time to put pen to paper and come up with new designs. It took until 1949 before General Motors could revamp its bread-and-butter cars. Yet Americans were frothing at the mouth for brand-new automobiles, and with a bit of marketing magic, General Motors was able to deliver cars to its customers for one more year before it launched a new model in 1949.
"A Fine Car Made Even Finer" was the slogan for the Pontiacs from 1948, literally defining the word "refined" by continuing to polish a well-worn platform to its most extreme limits. The pontoon fenders had to stay for one more year, as did the flat windscreens. The big news for 1948 wouldn't be aesthetic, then. It would be mechanical, for the 1948 Pontiac was the first car in this family-man price class to be offered with an automatic transmission, the venerable Hydra-Matic. For $175, a working man could own a car he didn't have to shift himself.
That's not to say that there wasn't anything new on the 1948 Pontiac's exterior. Nearly all of the trim on the 1948 Pontiac was new. The grille took on a bolder appearance, with the blocky PONTIAC script set into a small, third bar tucked under the leading edge of the hood molding. The result was a much larger "mouth" and a more streamlined appearance than the 1947 model. Triple spears adorning the flanks of the 1947 were replaced with a single, thick beltline molding that would indicate the future of automotive design for years to come. And at the rear of the car, simple, understated round taillamps gave the appearance of small afterburners in the night.
Our featured car is a 1948 Torpedo 8 Silver Streak convertible, one of 35,360 Torpedo 8s built in 1948, presented at the Fall Branson auction held on October 19 and 20, 2007. The car received a complete restoration at some point in its history, and that work was holding up very well.
"The convertible top appeared to be very new," reports Senior Editor Jim Donnelly. "Its very dark brown cloth beautifully offset the deep, deep cream exterior paint, which was marred only by a few minor buff marks and a chip here and there. You had to just love the interior, almost perfectly preserved, although the rich-looking leather facings were too good to be anything but relatively new."
Whoever ordered the Pontiac certainly knew what he was doing. "This car was highly desirable from an option standpoint," says Jim. "It featured a power top and eight-tube AM radio, plus the Hydra-Matic, along with some nice accessories like the dual spots and foglamps."
A quick note about the Branson Auction itself: There are flashier auctions around the country, but this is one you don't want to miss. The Branson Auction had its 15th anniversary in 2007, and if you needed any indication that the auction is finding an audience, signs of its strength were plentiful at the fall event. The venue has moved to the brand-new Branson Convention Center on the Lake Taneycomo waterfront. Jim notes that "some consideration definitely went into the auction lots, which were an effective melding of old and new, foreign and domestic, cars and trucks."
In all, the auction sold 139 vehicles totaling more than $3.7 million, a 63 percent sell-through rate.
The Branson Auction featured 222 cars in all, and Jim describes this Pontiac as "exceptionally strong visually, one of the most immediately attractive cars out of all that were consigned here." The buyer definitely felt the same way, apparently. Selling price was $48,600 (not including Branson's 8 percent commission), almost $9,000 more than average.
"Some noticeably less attractive cars were bid more strongly," says Jim, proving our estimation that immediate post-war cars can deliver quality in not-such a costly package.
Auctioneer: Branson Auctions
Location: Branson, Missouri
Date: October 19-20, 2007
Lot Number: 558
Condition: 2+
Auction estimate: None
Selling Price: $48,600

This article originally appeared in the April, 2008 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.